When we leave our homes, we can not control the actions of others. Someday, we may have to protect ourselves or others to prevent harmful acts. First, I do not seek to participate in violence or condone violence. On Saturday night while visiting CVS and interacting with a fan, an aggressor carrying a bag approached the fan standing alongside me. Before exiting the store, the aggressor made offensive gestures and threatening statements “I’m going to beat your a**”
Attempting to de-escalate the situation, I left the store while conversing with the fan/customer outside the store, the aggressor immediately approached the fan. The aggressor continued threatening the fan just as he did in the store. Once again, attempting to diffuse the ongoing situation, I placed myself between the fan and the aggressor. I made verbal demands asking the aggressor to stop his threatening behavior.
As I stood between the fan and the aggressor; the aggressor swung at me. Again, I tried to de-escalate the situation, even after he swung at me. He continued to approach me. As a result, and acting in self-defense, I felt obligated to prevent the aggressor from becoming more violent. Like anyone else, I was making a stop at CVS and was blindsided by all of this. Unfortunately, I had to act using self-defense to end a threat towards myself and the fan. I will attempt to make positive from this negative experience. Please respect my wishes to no longer discuss this matter.
– T.O.